1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method of updating configuration data in a signal transfer point that processes communication messages for a communication network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refer to FIG. 1 as an example of a prior art telecommunications network, with a first device 100 placing a call to a second device 112. The actual voice data travels a path from the first device 100 to the first switch 104, and then through a trunk line 106 to a second switch 108 and on to the second device 112. Signaling messages are used to set up these connections to transfer calls. These connections may include many more switches and other devices than shown in this example, making the task even more complex. In this example, the first switch 104 sends a signaling message to its signal transfer point (STP) 118, which then sends a signaling message to a different signal transfer point 122 corresponding to the second switch 108. These signaling messages are used to set up the switches such that they agree on which of the many channels in the trunk line is used to convey the call from the first switch 104 to the second switch 108.
Each signal transfer point contains a quantity of network configuration data. This configuration data tells the STP which external STPs are allowed to send it messages over which linksets (lines connecting the STPs), and what data format to expect them to use. If an external STP sends a signaling message over an incorrect linkset or in an incorrect format, the receiving STP ignores the signaling message, and the corresponding call is dropped. As may be expected, the amount of configuration data for each STP is quite large and complex. If any errors exist in the data, the receiving STP will not process the signaling messages correctly, and calls may be dropped. Thus, it is critical that the configuration data be maintained as error-free and as up-to-date as is possible.
When one communication company adds a new trunk line from one of their switches to a switch owned by a different communication company, various problems arise. The companies must communicate with each other sufficient configuration information about the new trunk line such that all of the involved STPs may be updated to take advantage of the bandwidth offered by the new trunk line. Typically, employees of each company must edit the configuration data for each of their respective STPs to add routing data for the new trunk line. Often this involves editing very large data files (for example, in the format of tables as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5), finding a logical place in the data files to add the new routing data, adding the data, and saving the modified configuration data back to the STPs. If any mistakes are made in any of these steps, calls intended for the new trunk line will be dropped.
Since current telecommunications networks are constantly being modified and improved, changes to configuration data within signal transfer points are very common. Given the frequency of changes to the configuration data by human operators, errors are virtually inevitable, and will result in reduced quality of service (QoS) to the customers. Obviously, given the complexity of the data, detection and correction of errors is a time-consuming and difficult job.
Computer systems currently exist that allow users to modify configuration data within STPs. However, they have been programmed for specific types of modifications to the configuration tables containing the data. Since they do not search within the configuration tables, users are required to specify rows and columns within the configuration tables for modification. Also, these current programs are limited in the types of modifications they are capable of performing. For example, complex modifications involving more than two linksets are currently beyond the scope of present computer programs. These limitations may contribute to errors in the configuration data and result in reduced quality of service.